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Article
Publication date: 10 November 2020

Muzammil Khan, Sarwar Shah Khan, Arshad Ahmad and Arif Ur Rahman

The World Wide Web has become an essential platform for a news publication, and it has become one of the primary sources of information dissemination in the past few years…

Abstract

Purpose

The World Wide Web has become an essential platform for a news publication, and it has become one of the primary sources of information dissemination in the past few years. Electronic media, i.e., television channels, magazines and newspapers, have started publishing news online. This online information is prompt to be disappeared because of short life-span and imperative to be archived for the long-term and future generations. This paper presents a content-based similarity measure based on the headings of the news articles for linking digital news stories published in various newspapers during the preservation process that helps to ensure future accessibility.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate the accuracy and assess the effectiveness and worth of the proposed measure for linking news articles in Digital News Story Archive (DNSA), we adopted both, system-centric and user-centric (human judgment) evaluation over different datasets of news articles.

Findings

The proposed similarity measure is evaluated using different sizes of datasets, and the results are compared by both user-centric technique, i.e., expert judgment and system-centric techniques, i.e., cosine similarity measure, extended Jaccard measure and common ratio measure for stories (CRMS). The comparison helps to get a broader impact and can be helpful for generalization of the measure for different categories of news articles. Multiple experiments have conducted the findings of which showed that the measure presented viable results for national and international news, while best results for linking sports news articles during preservation based on headings.

Originality/value

The DNSA preserves a huge number of news articles from multiple news sources and to link with a vast collection, which encourages to introduce an efficient linking mechanism with few terms to manipulate. The CRMS is modified to deal with the headings of news articles as a part of the digital news stories preservation framework and comprehensively analysed.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 40 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Mohammad Said Ibrahim Alshuaibi, Ahmad Said Ibrahim Alshuaibi, Faridahwati Mohd. Shamsudin and Darwina Ahmad Arshad

Social media is a popular communication tool for college students in many countries including Malaysia. Even though the literature indicates that the use of social media in a…

4848

Abstract

Purpose

Social media is a popular communication tool for college students in many countries including Malaysia. Even though the literature indicates that the use of social media in a higher learning environment is likely to enhance academic performance of college students, the mechanism that explains such association is yet to be explored. Based on the claims that the integration of social media use is purposeful to enhance student engagement, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of student engagement as a potential mediator between social media use and academic performance of college students in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

A total number of 227 business students in one of the public universities in Malaysia were randomly chosen to participate in this study. Questionnaire was used as the main data collection technique, which was personally administered during class sessions. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling-partial least square (SEM-PLS).

Findings

The result showed the multidimensionality of student engagement. It also indicated that cognitive engagement mediated the relationship between social media and academic performance, but not behavioral, emotional, or agentic engagement. The result suggests that social media has the potential to be used in a learning environment as it promotes cognitive engagement of students in class and subsequently their academic performance and success.

Research limitations/implications

One of the limitations of the present study is that the generalizability of the finding to a much larger population of students may be limited as the sampled students were recruited from business students in one of the public universities in Malaysia only. Students of different academic programs in different universities may have a different pattern of using the social media.

Practical implications

This study will help higher learning institutions and educators think of ways to integrate the use of social media in learning activities to help students achieve better academic performance. As shown by the findings, such use can encourage students to be cognitively engagedt in class in which the students can be more active learners.

Originality/value

The present study adds to the literature in social media use by addressing the issue of how it helps enhance academic performance of college students in a single model. Past studies tended to examine the role of social media and student engagement and the effect of student engagement on academic performance separately. Furthermore, this study took into consideration various types of social media used by college students who tend to have multiple accounts.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2018

Arshad Ahmad, Chong Feng, Shi Ge and Abdallah Yousif

Software developers extensively use stack overflow (SO) for knowledge sharing on software development. Thus, software engineering researchers have started mining the…

1770

Abstract

Purpose

Software developers extensively use stack overflow (SO) for knowledge sharing on software development. Thus, software engineering researchers have started mining the structured/unstructured data present in certain software repositories including the Q&A software developer community SO, with the aim to improve software development. The purpose of this paper is show that how academics/practitioners can get benefit from the valuable user-generated content shared on various online social networks, specifically from Q&A community SO for software development.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive literature review was conducted and 166 research papers on SO were categorized about software development from the inception of SO till June 2016.

Findings

Most of the studies revolve around a limited number of software development tasks; approximately 70 percent of the papers used millions of posts data, applied basic machine learning methods, and conducted investigations semi-automatically and quantitative studies. Thus, future research should focus on the overcoming existing identified challenges and gaps.

Practical implications

The work on SO is classified into two main categories; “SO design and usage” and “SO content applications.” These categories not only give insights to Q&A forum providers about the shortcomings in design and usage of such forums but also provide ways to overcome them in future. It also enables software developers to exploit such forums for the identified under-utilized tasks of software development.

Originality/value

The study is the first of its kind to explore the work on SO about software development and makes an original contribution by presenting a comprehensive review, design/usage shortcomings of Q&A sites, and future research challenges.

Details

Data Technologies and Applications, vol. 52 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9288

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 September 2022

Arshad Ahmad Khan, Sufyan Ullah Khan, Muhammad Abu Sufyan Ali, Aftab Khan, Yousaf Hayat and Jianchao Luo

The main aim of this study is to investigate the impact of climate change and water salinity on farmer’s income risk with future outlook mitigation. Salinity and climate change…

Abstract

Purpose

The main aim of this study is to investigate the impact of climate change and water salinity on farmer’s income risk with future outlook mitigation. Salinity and climate change are a threat to agricultural productivity worldwide. However, the combined effects of climate change and salinity impacts on farmers' income are not well understood, particularly in developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The response-yield function and general maximum entropy methods were used to predict the impact of temperature, precipitation and salinity on crop yield. The target minimization of total absolute deviations (MOTAD)-positive mathematical programming model was used to simulate the impact of climate change and salinity on socioeconomic and environmental indicators. In the end, a multicriteria decision-making model was used, aiming at the selection of suitable climate scenarios.

Findings

The results revealed that precipitation shows a significantly decreasing trend, while temperature and groundwater salinity (EC) illustrate a significantly increasing trend. Climate change and EC negatively impact the farmer's income and water shadow prices. Maximum reduction in income and water shadow prices was observed for A2 scenario (−12.4% and 19.4%) during 2050. The environmental index was the most important, with priority of 43.4% compared to socioeconomic indicators. Subindex amount of water used was also significant in study area, with 28.1% priority. The technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution ranking system found that B1 was the best climatic scenario for adopting climate change adaptation in the research region.

Originality/value

In this study, farmers' income threats were assessed with the aspects of different climate scenario (A1, A1B and B1) over the horizons of 2030, 2040 and 2050 and three different indicators (economic, social and environmental) in Northwestern region of Pakistan. Only in arid and semiarid regions has climate change raised temperature and reduced rainfall, which are preliminary symptoms of growing salinity.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 14 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2011

Zaid Ahmad Wani, Arshad Hussain, Abdul Wahid Khan, M Maqbool Dar, AkashYousf Khan, Yasir H. Rather and Sheikh Shoib

Suicide and attempted suicide is an important health issue and the number of people who die of suicide exceeds that of conflicts. Kashmir has been suffering from a low intensity…

Abstract

Suicide and attempted suicide is an important health issue and the number of people who die of suicide exceeds that of conflicts. Kashmir has been suffering from a low intensity war since last 20 years in which thousands have been killed or injured. There has been phenomenal increase in cases of psychological disorders along with suicide and and suicide attempters. Suicide in a conflict zone is viewed with indifference due to focus on the physical part of trauma. Difficulties faced by the suicidal patient and his attendants are seldom highlighted. 1408 patients who reported to emergency room for suicide attempt from 2000 to 2008 were taken for the study. All the patients underwent the hospital protocol for poisoning management. Patients were subjected to detailed psychiatric evaluation and questions were specifically asked about the difficulties encountered during management. Most of the cases were females with 92.11% belonging to the Muslim religion. 76.20% cases were from a rural background. 32.5% had been referred because of the lack of specific antidotes. Forty-three percent required arrangement of transportation by their own family members. Fifty-seven percent had been stopped for security checks along the way. Seventy-three percent felt that the attitude of the staff hostile. Twenty-three percent of patients had to share a bed. Almost all patients were questioned by security agencies within the hospital. More than 68% patient reported hostility amongst their neighbors. Suicidal poisoning is a significant health problem in Kashmir and management of these cases is fraught with difficulties across the spectrum of health care. Educating the doctors at primary care about first aid, improvement in community services followed by long term resolution of the conflict would go some way in alleviating the difficulties faced by a suicidal patient and his family in a conflict zone.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 July 2018

Najafi Auwalu Ibrahim, Rosli Mahmood and Muhammad Shukri Bakar

This study aims to explore the relationships between strategic improvisation, organizational culture and higher education institutions (HEIs) performance. The dynamic nature of…

4572

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the relationships between strategic improvisation, organizational culture and higher education institutions (HEIs) performance. The dynamic nature of today’s environment, increased population and demand and budget cuts have created a lot of pressure on HEIs around the world. Hence, the need for effective human resource capable of providing advanced policies for efficiency and sustainability of these institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 229 questionnaires were filled and returned by academic leaders from HEIs in Kano state, Nigeria. The study used partial least squares path modelling to test the hypotheses postulated.

Findings

The major findings indicate that both strategic improvisation and organizational culture dimensions have direct relationship with HEIs performance. However, only innovative culture moderates the relationship between strategic improvisation and HEIs, while bureaucratic culture and supportive culture fail to support the proposed hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

More studies are needed to further validate the impact of strategic improvisation (SI) on other public sector performance. Also, future studies should use longitudinal approach to establish at which stage SI has more impact on performance. Also, future studies should identify the difference that exists between units, department and faculty leaders, as some are more likely to engage in SI due to the nature of their specialization.

Practical implications

It is obvious that HEIs performance is not only limited to organizational factors but also individual characteristics such as ability to improvise. Hence, HEIs should consider SI ability during employment to ensure efficiency, performance and sustainability. Moreover, organizational culture of HEIs needs to be updated and to be more flexible in accommodating new initiatives or failure to encourage display of such ability.

Originality/value

Previous studies especially in the for profit sector have demonstrated the role of SI and organizational culture on performance. Thus, the present study is one of the early studies in the non-profit sector, specifically the HEIs. Moreover, the inconsistent result of the previous findings necessitates the study to test the moderating effect of organizational culture.

Details

PSU Research Review, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2399-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 May 2021

Evagelos Varthis, Marios Poulos, Ilias Giarenis and Sozon Papavlasopoulos

This study aims to provide a system capable of static searching on a large number of unstructured texts directly on the Web domain while keeping costs to a minimum. The proposed…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to provide a system capable of static searching on a large number of unstructured texts directly on the Web domain while keeping costs to a minimum. The proposed framework is applied to the unstructured texts of Migne’s Patrologia Graeca (PG) collection, setting PG as an implementation example of the method.

Design/methodology/approach

The unstructured texts of PG have automatically transformed to a read-only not only Structured Query Language (NoSQL) database with a structure identical to that of a representational state transfer access point interface. The transformation makes it possible to execute queries and retrieve ranked results based on a specialized application of the extended Boolean model.

Findings

Using a specifically built Web-browser-based search tool, the user can quickly locate ranked relevant fragments of texts with the ability to navigate back and forth. The user can search using the initial part of words and by ignoring the diacritics of the Greek language. The performance of the search system is comparatively examined when different versions of hypertext transfer protocol (Http) are used for various network latencies and different modes of network connections. Queries using Http-2 have by far the best performance, compared to any of Http-1.1 modes.

Originality/value

The system is not limited to the case study of PG and has a generic application in the field of humanities. The expandability of the system in terms of semantic enrichment is feasible by taking into account synonyms and topics if they are available. The system’s main advantage is that it is totally static which implies important features such as simplicity, efficiency, fast response, portability, security and scalability.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 July 2020

Hussein-Elhakim Al Issa

This paper aims to examine the effect of financial bootstrapping strategies (FBS) and strategic improvisation (SI) on business performance (BP). The study enriches our…

1037

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effect of financial bootstrapping strategies (FBS) and strategic improvisation (SI) on business performance (BP). The study enriches our understanding of the contributions of bootstrapping and improvisation strategies toward resource-constrained small businesses during real economic downturns and crises. The potential moderating effect of SI on the relationship between FBS and its dimensions and performance were also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the convenience snowball sampling technique, data were collected from entrepreneurs in Tripoli, Libya. Structural equation modeling by means of partial least square bootstrapping resampling was used for the hypotheses testing of the 147 useable responses.

Findings

Statistically significant positive relationships were found in the direct relationships between bootstrapping and improvisation with performance. However, there was no significant association found between the delaying payment related bootstrapping and the owner-related bootstrapping with performance. The moderating effect of improvisation had a significant relationship between bootstrapping as an aggregate construct and its dimensions and performance.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the cross-sectional nature of this study which used a small sample that was randomly selected, generalization to the entire population of business ventures should be made with caution.

Practical implications

The negative moderation effect of improvisation on FBS-BP association suggests that entrepreneurs need to be careful in balancing the two strategies so that efforts are no wasted.

Originality/value

While business performance has been studied in various organizations, its examination with financial bootstrapping strategies as a predictor and strategic improvisation as a moderator contribute nascent theoretical insights.

Details

EuroMed Journal of Business, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1450-2194

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2023

Rabia Aslam, Saqib Rehman and Adeel Nasir

To be successful on a global scale, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need government support (GS) for innovation, sustainability and creativity. GS has always been a…

Abstract

Purpose

To be successful on a global scale, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need government support (GS) for innovation, sustainability and creativity. GS has always been a constructive influence on enterprises. This paper aims to examine the role of GS in assessing financial literacy (FL), access to finance (AF) and green value co-creation (GVC) for the sustainability of SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

This study’s sample comprises SMEs in Lahore, Pakistan. Data collection started in December 2021 and ended in February 2022. Using convenient sampling, 320 responses were collected from SMEs and included in data analysis. Hypotheses were tested, and model fit was checked through the software AMOS 22.

Findings

It has been examined that GS plays a pivotal role in acquiring FL, AF and GVC for the sustainability of SMEs.

Research limitations/implications

Increasing the sample size will give a more demonstrative picture as the population size is quite large. Future researchers should design causal relationships, linking these variables through longitudinal research.

Originality/value

No study has been conducted on SMEs of developing economies using these variables. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive model and identifying GSs importance in achieving SMEs’ sustainability through financial and green lenses. This research significantly impacts government policymakers and SMEs by giving them insight into the importance of green practices, financial capabilities and SMEs’ sustainability.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 38 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2004

Muhammad Naveed Baqir and Yunus Kathawala

Aims to develop a knowledge city model by constructing knowledge homes using futuristic technology building blocks that can help in implementing the concept of virtual Ba to…

2422

Abstract

Aims to develop a knowledge city model by constructing knowledge homes using futuristic technology building blocks that can help in implementing the concept of virtual Ba to share, manage, and create knowledge. A variety of research organizations and forums are researching new technologies for better connectivity, contactivity, and computational power to manage knowledge. In this paper, a knowledge city model has been developed based upon five important technological components leading to knowledge sharing/creation for knowledgeable citizens. The model also sheds light on how it may cater to the educational, socio‐cultural, business and governmental needs of knowledge cities. Amalgamation of different technologies is indispensable to managing the knowledge of a learning organization. This type of technology integration leads to increasing amounts of data, and intensifies the pressure of information overload upon knowledge workers. The growing network usage also upsets network models, putting remarkable pressure on bandwidth requirements and network management. The technologies used to build a knowledge city address these issues by developing a smart knowledge network. This is not an exhaustive review of various technologies used to construct a knowledge city model, but it is a useful resource for knowledge managers, technology managers, and planners who are interested in exploring promising technologies to manage knowledge. This paper combines the latest technologies to build a knowledge home that is aimed towards implementing Ba in a knowledge city. The paper also introduces the concept of virtual Ba by unifying the traditional Ba and knowledge management technologies.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 8 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

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